1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to looseleaf books and, more particularly, to a loosely bound book of foam-based pages which includes a plurality of pages, each page including a middle foam plate and front and back semi-rigid paper plates mounted on and sandwiching the middle foam plate, at least one binder slot formed in each of the pages which extends completely through the page, at least one binding strap extendable through the binder slots of each of the pages and at least one releasable binding strap closure device mounted on the binding strap to permit opening and closing of the binding strap for adding or removing pages from the loosely bound book.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many different kinds of books and book bindings which are currently used in the publishing industry. While the majority of books are constructed of paper and paper products, there are many different types of children's books which are constructed of different materials such as cloth, foam, or other such materials, in order to provide additional tactile sensations for the children reading the books. Recently, one of the more popular types of manufacturing materials used in connection with children's books are thin plates of foam which constitute the pages and front and rear covers of the children's books. These are bound together in many different ways and assembled to form many different shapes and sizes of children's books, but one of the inherent problems encountered in the use of such foam pages is that the foam material which is used to construct the pages is not conducive for writing thereon, only for printing by the manufacturer, and thus the children who are using the foam books cannot personalize the foam book by writing their own thoughts and ideas on the pages of the foam book. There is therefore a need to provide a book which incorporates pages which permit the children to write on those pages, yet which also incorporates many of the advantages supplied by use of foam-based materials for construction thereof.
Another disadvantage found in connection with children's books currently being manufactured is that the binding methods used in connection with those children's books render it highly inconvenient or even impossible to add or subtract pages from the children's book, thus severely limiting the ability of the child to personalize the book and add or subtract pages therefrom. While various binding methods are used in connection with paper-based pages which permit the addition and subtraction of pages from the book, such a binding has heretofore been unavailable for use with foam-based pages, and the main reason for this has been that addition and subtraction of pages from the foam-based page book has been generally deemed unnecessary. Once the child has the ability to modify or personalize the pages of the book, however, the ability to add and remove pages from the book becomes far more critical, and therefore there is a need for a binding device which will permit the addition and subtraction of pages from a foam-based book and do so in an easy to use and aesthetically attractive configuration.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a loosely bound book of foam-based pages which includes a binding device which permits addition and subtraction of pages therefrom.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a loosely bound book of foam-based pages in which the plurality of pages are constructed of a middle foam plate sandwiched between front and back paper plates which permit the user to write thereon, yet which also provide the soft edges of the foam page which is desirable.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a loosely bound book of foam-based pages which includes a releasable strap which extends through binder slots formed in each of the pages to bind the loosely bound pages to one another in a loosely bound book format.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a loosely bound book of foam-based pages in which the binder strap includes a releasable closure device such as a hook and loop fastener attached at opposite ends of the strap to close the binder strap in a loop configuration to secure the loosely bound pages in a loosely bound book format and also permit opening of the binder strap to add or subtract pages from the book.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide a loosely bound book of foam-based pages which is relatively simple in design and is safe, efficient, and effective in use.